TCM Classic Film Festival

Lo and Behold, in 1994, Turner Classic Movies arrived. Ever since then, people have been enjoying, and re-enjoying, classic films in the comfort of their own homes. And even better, four years ago, TCM started their Classic Film Festival here in Los Angeles, and I had the utmost privilege to attend. It was rather kind of Allan Havey to give me his other pass, and I was able to attend most of last weekend.

TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL 2013

Years ago, when I was living in the Philadlephia area, I knew a guy that made a startling declaration during a conversation about movies. He said he would not watch any film made before 1980, nor did he like watching any films shot in black and white. I know, right? What the Hell? It’s interesting that I, even then, found this statment to be preposterous. And this was probably back in the late 80’s. Think of how few films this guy allowed himself access to simply because…I don’t know, he never wanted to see things like a dog does? He was narrow-minded enough to think that black and white was somehow inherently inferior to color. “Why watch a movie in black and white when there are movies in color?”, he asked me while my mouth was agape. Our esteemed co-founder here, Chris Mancini can attest to this short-sighted person. He knew him, too. We still laugh about him to this day.

Who knows if he ever grew out of that mindset, but I can’t ever imagine living without the classics, be they in black and white, OR color. So, by now, or maybe immediately, you’re probably wondering why the Hell isn’t our contributing writer, comic Allan Havey, doing this article. Isn’t he the usual film classics guy? Well, yes, yes he is. But just because it’s not my usual genre, that’s not to say I don’t have an affection for them. Indeed I do. My parents introduced me to films like The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, Harvey, The Marx Brothers movies and the original King Kong; films not too unusual for most kids to see. But my love of monster movies had me watching Godzilla movies, including the 1954 original, and the Universal classics like Dracula and Frankenstein. And I’d watch any and all of the Saturday afternoon and late night scary movies. Night of the Living Dead, Hammer horror films, Creature From the Black Lagoon, ANYthing with a creature in it, I watched it.

But it was later, those years after college that I really explored the classics. I discovered actors like Jimmy Stewart, Peter O’Toole, Montgomery Clift, Gene Kelley, James Cagney, Clint Eastwood, Robert Deniro, and directors like David Lean, Billy Wilder, and Frank Capra. And then some friends introduced me to William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man. I had wondered how I could have not seen films like this. I wanted other people to know how much fun they were. Lo and Behold, in 1994, Turner Classic Movies arrived. Ever since then, people have been enjoying, and re-enjoying, classic films in the comfort of their own homes. And even better, four years ago, TCM started their Classic Film Festival here in Los Angeles, and I had the utmost privilege to attend. It was rather kind of Allan Havey to give me his other pass, and I was able to attend most of last weekend.

They do a great job of of organizing – sometimes with these festivals you don’t know where to go and no one else seems to be able to tell you, either. Thankfully, TCM runs a tight ship and everything was smooth as could be. And their choice of films was amazing. And it’s not just films, people, oh no. It’s special panels and discussions with actors, directors, and film historians and experts. So many screenings were like special events for me. For those that follow my twiter account(s), well, you know I barraged you with tweets about how cool these screenings were. And if you hadn’t considered it, I can assure you each of those tweets was in giddy delight. Such is the way of the film nerd.

I can’t tell you all of the films they screened, that would be exhausting. There were something like, 80 films being screened, and obviously I didn’t see them all. My only complaint, which is really a compliment, is that the films ran con-currently so you had to pick one of any five films showing in each block. I know they do that on purpose but it sure would have been great to see everything. But alas, there are only so many hours in a day. As it stands, I saw ten films all weekend. So awesome. So I’ll just recap those briefly.

Thursday night I was able to see From Russia With Love (1963). Of all the James Bond films, this one ranks high on the list as one of, if not, the best. Sean Connery was always the best Bond for my money, and this shows you why. This is what Bond is all about, it’s the real spy thriller action that takes front seat to any of the gadjets.

Friday night (damn my pesky day job) – I caught the Rolling Stones documentary Gimme Shelter (1970). Presenting and discussing the film were directors Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, along with friend and cinematographer Haskell Wexler. I’d never really thought about this documentary, but I’d always heard a lot about it so it seemed like a perfect time to see it. And I’m I glad I did! Turns out it’s one of the most engossing documentary’s, most of which is about the ill-fated free concert at Altamont Speedway where several people were injured, and others died. You know, the concert where the Hell’s Angel’s were used as security. How did that sound like a good idea at the time?

Saturday was a big day: I saw Deliverance (1972) , which I had seen before, but not with director John Boorman, actors Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty discussing it beforehand! That alone was worth coming out for the festival. To hear these guys talk about the film and offer anecdotes, well, it was just so cool. And for the record, Burt Reynolds doesn’t get enough credit as an actor. All anybody thinks of is Smoky and the Bandit. Man , there is so much more to him than that, and Deliverance is a good example.

Then, an important screening of The Seventh Seal (1957) starring Max Von Sydow, who also did a discussion prior to the film. Wow. Now, I know I’m just the “average movie-goer” and all, but even I know that this is a film that’s basically a part of every film students 101 class. Is Farmer John from rural Nebraska putting this at the top of his list of favorite’s? Probably no more so than your average drunken frat boy. Let’s just say if Michael Bay movies are your favorite, you won’t be a fan of The Seventh Seal. Having a chance to see this on the big screen is a real treat. TCM, makin’ it happen!

Saturday night I saw Le Mans (1971), starring Steve McQueen. I honestly never really cared much for seeing this as I’m not a particularly avid auto racing fan, but I am a Steve McQueen fan. And I had heard this was a unique film and if you are going to see a film about auto-racing, Le Mans is the one to see. It was also a real pet project of McQueen’s. It’s an interesting film – almost a documentary. There is basically no dialogue in the first 36 minutes of the film. Discussion prior to the screening was with Chad McQueen, son of Steve, and racers Vic Elford and Derek Bell. For the racing enthusiast, this is a must see. For me, I found it fascinating, but I don’t know that I’d give it much personal replay value. But again, the opportunity to see this on the big screen was worth it.

Though I had missed the midnight Friday screening of Plan 9 From Outer Space, I have no regrets, as I’ve seen it many times. Midnight Staurday, however, gave us Island of Lost Souls (1932) with Charles Laughton! I think I saw it enough years ago to warrant a refresher, and I was glad I did. Such a wonderful, creepy film – the first film adaptation of H.G. Wells Island of Dr. Moreau. Charles Laughton is amazing and weird and full of demented child-like madness.

Sunday I was a film I’d never even heard of, Scarecrow (1973), starring Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. Director Jerry Schatzberg was there to discuss it beforehand. It’s a great movie – bit of a dark film, ultimately, about an ex-con with a penchant for starting fights looking to open a carwash in Pittsburgh and a young sensitive guy just back from being at sea, as they travel east together. Another film I would likely never have seen if it hadn’t been for this festival.

Another great film with Max Von Sydow, also with him discussing it; Three Days of the Condor (1975). Also starring Robert Redford. A lot more people know this one, and I believe I saw it in the theater with my dad when it came out. A great thiller about a CIA researcher that comes back from lunch to find all his co-workers dead, and has to outwit the perpetrators until he can find someone to trust. It occurs to me that a lot of the films I saw were from the 1970’s. Turns out, the 70’s were a really fertile time for film making. To use a bit of a cliched line, they really don’t make them like they used to. Cliche’ or not, it’s totally true, though there is something to be said for the fact that movies from the 70’s were films I grew up on, so they did make an imprint on me.

I finished my weekend with the well-known classic, John Huston’s The African Queen (1951) with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. I couldn’t remember when I last saw this. More than enough reason to see it again. How can you not love Bogart? And Hepburn was masterful and had the most perfect cheekbones and jawline ever. These two made a remarkable team. And with a story of a gin-drinking river boat captain persuaded by a proper missionary woman to use his little boat to attack a German warship, (and falling for each other along the way), how could you go wrong? Present for the discussion was actor Theodore Bikel, the only surving cast member. This is the guy that has played Tevye theatrically in Fiddler on the Roof over 2000 times. He last did it three years ago when he was 86 years old. WHAT.

So many wonderful things I discovered at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Yes, I am gushing a bit. I had a great time and hope I can do it again next year. We need to make people understand that the Transformers movies are NOT what the craft of film-making is all about. Please come to the festival next year if you can, or at the very least, watch more of the TCM channel and discover the brilliance of the classics.

~ Neil T. Weakley, your average movie-goer, telling you that if you haven’t seen The Thin Man, you are doing yourself a disservice.

Share this post

Author: Neil Weakley

Hi. I'm Neil. I didn't go to film school so I don't really have to justify any of my opinions about why I like a film or not. So there. But I worked in film for a number of years, so I have hands-on experience. That, and I've known Chris Mancini for, like, 25 years. It really is all who you know. :)
I'm mostly, but not exclusively, a fan of sci-fi, comic book movies, horror, comedies, and weird independent films. If you're an average movie-goer and want to know what another average movie-goer thinks without all the "feelm school" gobbley-gook, hop on over to www.comedyfilmnerds.com and look for me, Neil T. Weakley. I won't steer you wrong. Or follow me on Twitter @wychlea or @FilmNerdNeil.